“It opened our eyes to what needs to happen in our community”
- Wendy Walter
Creston & Area Economic Development Society, BC
"This is an incredible tool! Totally reaffirms the direction of our strategic plan using a 3rd party analysis. This gets people interested in being part of the solution.”
- Stuart McFadden, Wallaceburg.Ontario
CIEL - Testimonials and Awards
What people are saying about CIEL:
"Mike Stolte is the most fascinating economist ever"
- Shelagh Rogers - CBC Radio Host
"The Business Vitality Initiative (BVI) Report is worth a million bucks to us"
- Jason Paterson, Executive Director, Community Futures West Yellowhead (Alberta)
"The BVI facilitator training surpassed my expections and was well worth the time invested by all."
- Jim Colmer, Eng., former General Motors Executive & President of James Colmer Consultation Inc. - Deux Montagnes, Quebec
"CIEL has developed very professional tools and approaches that truly meet community needs. They have a lot of depth.”
- Mary Ward, Human Systems, Ashland, Oregon, USA
"This is so necessary.”
- Participant, South Glengarry (Ontario) Community Vitality Initiative (CVI)
"This is an incredible tool! Totally reaffirms the direction of our strategic plan using a 3rd party analysis. This gets people interested in being part of the solution.”
- Stuart McFadden, Wallaceburg (Ontario) Community Check-Up
"The tools provide important benchmarks and are measurable – something communities need. Besides that, the processes are fun, easy to understand and engaging.”
- Mike Dalmau, High Country Management Enterprises - Business Expansion And Retention (BEAR) Facilitator and Business Vitality Initiative (BVI) Facilitator-Trainee, Acheron, Victoria, Australia
"I can’t believe the number of people in the community who came up and thanked me”
- Wes Barrett, Business Vitality Initiative (BVI) Facilitator from Manitoba
"The CIEL Team is the most innovative organization in the region. And we’ve got lots of dynamic, innovative organizations in this region.”
- Kelvin Saldern - Executive Director, Kootenay Association of Science & Technology (KAST) on CIEL winning the 2008 award for most innovative organization.
"Working with CIEL was one of the best most rewarding processes I’ve ever been involved in professionally.”
- Grant Myers – Provincial Development Officer, Community Table,
Huntingdon, Quebec
"We’ve found the Communities Matrix an incredibly useful tool for engaging communities in a positive way. They understand it immediately and can place themselves on it. Then they can visually see where they were and where they want to be. This is essential for having an informed conversation and to use as a starting point.”
- Australian Developer
"This stuff is amazing. I wanted to say thanks again for your work, insight and knowledge. Small communities like ourselves know the need to address issues. However, this appears to be a vehicle that we can use as a launchpad for positive change”
- Yuergen Beck, Councillor - Athens, Ontario
"Mike and his tools and processes are wonderful to work with. He knows communities. The depth of CIEL’s tools bring credibility, rigour and confidence to the process.”
- Antoinette Danaher, Uncommon Solutions PL, Bendigo, Victoria, Australia
"The BVI is extremely effective. I've seen the community focus and work toward achieving their action items, based on the BVI. This program is an excellent community capacity building tool.”
- Tracey Whiting, College of the Rockies, Cranbrook, BC
"CIEL’s process was dynamic & engaged the community”
- Rami Rothkop, Harrop Procter Community Forest Co-op, BC
"The effect on my community has been the sharing of knowledge and skills that we each have taken from each weekend. We share what we’ve learned with others in our groups and circles. Longer term our community will benefit from the knowledge and skills that we pass along.”
- LCBC (leadership training) Participant
"CIEL's insight into what makes communities tick and their ability to translate those insights into real world tools, strategies and actions are worth a look."
- Michael Buda, Senior Policy Analyst, Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM)
"The BVI brought the community together and pulled out priorities, allowed us to focus. It served as a catalyst for other initiatives. In addition it left the actions up to the community and allowed for whole community to focus.”
- Karen Hamling, Area Development Board, City of Nakusp, BC
"The Evolution of Communities Matrix is an important tool to help communities determine where they are in terms of their capability to move forward. Having worked with communities around BC for a number of years, I feel that the matrix is easily understandable, very relevant to communities, and a good catalyst to rally community stakeholders around the issue of building on strengths and addressing weaknesses."
- Brandon Hughes - Policy Advisor, Canadian Rural Partnership/Human Resources and Skills Development Canada
”I found my voice again and some more personal power and plan to put it to work daily… I simply feel stronger and more empowered to take a larger part in our
community.”
- LCBC (leadership training) Participant
"The BVI gave us a great foundational document for economic development. Its greatest value, however, was the structured approach it offered the community with respect to identifying the strengths, weaknesses and priorities and then harnessing the community’s collective energy around using them.”
- Norm Carruthers, City Administrator, City of Nelson, BC
"We live in an increasingly global world and we also live in tiny individual worlds. The in-between layer, the community, gets lost. The CVI helps us to fill that gap and instil a sense of community”
- CVI participant
"I think it should be mandatory for every elected official to undergo this type of raining before serving their term as it gives you so many of the skills needed to do the job. Communities would be much more effective and productive. I would like to see a version of this program as part of the newly elected officials training and also include this is the Leadership Academy of Union of BC Municipalities.”
- LCBC (leadership training) participant who serves as an elected official
"The Matrix is a unique and valuable tool to assist smaller municipalities in understanding who they are, and what they can become."
- Michael Buda - Senior Policy Analyst, Federation of Canadian Municipalities
"The questionnaire and the meetings and the people running them were very professional and at the same time accessible.”
- CVI participant
"The BVI is a great tool & process. We need to have more people working with CIEL's tools to further Community and Economic Development in Canada."
- Hélène Deslauriers, Director General, Réseau des SADC in Quebec/Canadian Representative on the Organization for EconomicCo-operation and Development (OECD) Forum on Partnerships
"This (BVI) really helped pinpoint the issues we weren’t communicating well on.”
- Ron McCrae, Mayor, City of Kimberley, BC
“I always want more time for development of ACTION plans and ideas sharing. We are so seldom together for doing this. Small group discussions were a great start”
- BVI participant, New Denver, BC
"It challenged my personal perspectives and brought out my leadership. I have changed my negative attitude to positive. I talk more now, and ask for help when do not know.”
- LCBC Participant
"(Leading Communities)…strengthened relationships between members of the group that I now work with on other projects in the community”.
- LCBC Participant
"The BVI opened our eyes to what needs to happen in our community”
- Wendy Walter, Creston & Area Economic Development Society, BC